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Ross Poldark
Ross Poldark was the Master of Nampara and the Owner of Wheal Leisure and Wheal Grace. He was also the husband of Demelza Poldark with whom he had two children, the late Julia Poldark and Jeremy Poldark. Early Life Ross grew up in Nampara. His uncle, Charles Poldark, was the Master of Trenwith. At some point, he met Elizabeth Chynoweth and they became engaged. Revolutionary War In 1780, Ross was arrested for brawling. He joined the British Army to escape imprisonment. He was sent to the Revolutionary War even though he believed that their part in it was wrong. When he played cards with friends, they were attacked and Ross was knocked out. He returns to England in 1783 and heads to Cornwall to reunite with Elizabeth and his family. Returning Home While in a carriage, Ross pretends to sleep while others talked about him and his family. He finds out that everyone thought he had died, and people think very little of him and his father, who has since died. Ross then wakes up and enquires about what happened. The lady tells him that his father died six months ago and pretends to be sorry. Ross then decides to walk to Trenwith. He arrives at Trenwith while his family are having a meal. They are both surprised and happy to see him. He finds out Francis is engaged and congratulates him, asking him who he is engaged to. Mrs Chynoweth then tells him that Francis is engaged to Elizabeth, the woman Ross loves, who then walks in the room. Ross is shocked and disappointed. He then finds out his father has left him very little inheritance due to his lack of knowledge for business and that mines have started closing in Cornwall leaving no work. Master of Nampara Ross returns to his family home, Nampara. He finds it in ruin, and the family servants, Jud and Prudie living there. The next day, he asks them to clean the house while he attends to his father's grave and meets with other old friends and tenants who happily greet him and offer to help rebuild Nampara for free. However, Ross declines and states since they are already working for his uncle for a small amount of pay, it would be too much for them. Ross then pays a trip to his banker, Harris Pascoe to find out what has happened to his father's estate. He is told that the inheritance includes Nampara, a couple of derelict mines and a few cottages. The land is fallow and heavily mortgaged, his father has left debts and there is nothing making any profits. He says he would love to help, but the land is not worth trying to save and that he should head somewhere else to start anew and make a fortune. Ross later runs into Verity Poldark, who tells him that Francis and Elizabeth only got together recently and would be marrying in a fortnight. Ross makes a joke about how he thinks Elizabeth only agreed to marry Francis for his wealth. Verity apologises for the mess that Ross has returned home to but he needs to find a way out of it on his own. Ross returns home and starts trying to repair Nampara, building fences and preparing the land for crops. He attends a gathering with the tenants before Francis visits to see how he is doing and whether he will be attending the wedding. At the time, Ross was visiting one of the mines he was left. Francis says they are concerned about him, including Charles, and wants to encourage him to move on and build a new home elsewhere. Francis says he is sorry that he is with Elizabeth now, but they thought he had died and they fell in love. Ross gets angry and starts shouting at Francis which makes Francis slip and fall into the water. Ross debates whether to help Francis but then decides to. Ross attends the wedding of Francis and Elizabeth, remembering the time he and Elizabeth were together. Verity explains that an old school friend, George Warleggan is now an ambitious young banker. The reception is held at Trenwith, where Elizabeth tries to talk to Ross. She is surprised he never spoke to her when he returned but Ross says there was no formal recognition for their relationship so they should move on. Elizabeth wants to stay friends but Ross doesn't seem to want to be. Later on, Ross listens to Aunt Agatha reading tarot cards for the family. She tells them a dire reading, and that the Poldarks would be set against the fair and that while one Poldark rises, another will fall because all is fair in love and war. Charles takes it to heart, and tells Ross he is sorry that he got a better deal in life than his brother. He wants to help Ross move on with his life and states he should move away and build a new life. However, Ross decides he needs to stay and try to save his land. Charles says he is being stubborn and that he's got nothing to stay for. Ross leaves him. One day, Ross decides to go to town for market day to sell his father's pocketwatch. He takes a stroll only to happen upon a group of people watching a dog fight. Someone then attempts to stop them and claims they stole their dog. The group then attack her, until Ross steps in and saves her. He takes her for a meal and they talk, with her telling him that her name is Demelza Carne. She has left home to flee her abusive father. Ross offers her work at Nampara being a scullery maid. She agrees and he takes her and her dog home. The next day, Ross decides to talk his uncle but finds Elizabeth instead. They argue about how they loved each other and now she is someone else's wife. She says she is sorry and that it really hurts her to think how he feels and that he must hate her now. Ross says that she was the only person for him and that he thought about her the entire journey home. He wants to know whether they really meant anything to her, and Elizabeth says she did think about him but she thought he died. She asks him why he is only telling her these things now when he should have told her before she got married. She says it's too late now and that he needs to forget about her and move on. Ross leaves her but she says she would love for them to part as friends. Ross tells her they may never be friends and that she should tell his uncle he is about to get his wish - he is leaving for good. When he gets home, Ross tells Prudie to send Demelza home because he is leaving. Prudie then tells him that Demelza's father, Tom, is already there. Tom tells Ross to leave Demelza alone and stop trying to save and seduce her. A fight then breaks out and Tom sends for his group of friends to help him. Jud runs to get help from the tenants who help Ross fight Tom. Fortunately, they make Tom and his group flee. Seeing everyone fight for him, Ross decides he needs to stay in Cornwall. His Aunt then tells Ross to stay in Cornwall because he belongs there, and he tells her he already decided to stay. While speaking with Prudie, Ross says that he thinks Demelza is more trouble that she is worth and that Prudie should try to persuade Demelza to go home. Demelza hears him and runs away but Ross has a change of heart and follows her. He persuades her to stay and they return to Nampara. (1x01) Ross begins to find a way to salvage the family mines. Jud tells him that mining is in his blood but he thinks only a fool would try to. However, Ross continues with the idea. He returns the money his uncle gave him to start anew and Charles isn't shocked by it. They talk about how Lord Bassett killed himself that day because of debt he owed from his mines to the Warleggans and that Charles owes debt to them from his mines too. On the way home, Ross runs into tenants and they tell him they would love to work for him on his mines when he gets it going. They say Charles pays them terribly. Ross says he won't promise anything but that they may work for him if he succeeds. When Francis visits him, he tells Ross that he is happy he is staying. Ross says he is more determined to open a mine because he wants to help the people who don't have work now that Lord Bassett has died. Francis says he doesn't actually know anything about mining, even though he owns one too, and that Charles doesn't trust him with it anyway. Ross then tells Francis that he thinks they should open the new mine together, but Francis declines. Ross visits Harris Pascoe again and says he wants to open a mine but that he is lacking in things such as capital, assets or knowledge. Harris says that Ross will need to find investors to fund the idea. Verity visits Ross at Nampara to ask him to escort her to a local dance. He agrees and while there, he tries to secure investments. He knows he still has an old and valued name, despite what people think of him and his father. He dances with Elizabeth which upsets Francis and makes everyone, including George Warleggan talk about how neither have moved on. Verity later tells Ross to move on from Elizabeth. When Charles visits Nampara, Ross tells him about the mining idea he is exploring. Charles thinks he needs to slow down and think about but then the Poldarks rarely do. He believes it may also be their salvation. Charles tells him that Francis may be involved if he wants to, because he needs to learn how it works for when he inherits them. Ross says he is visting his banker the next day to set something up but they need to keep their plans quiet. The next day, Ross takes Demelza with him into town. Ross meets with potential investors and succeeds in his plans to set up Wheal Leisure. 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